Humble Beginnings
by HotaruGFC
Summary: A look back on Shepard's origins and a fleshing out of my headcanon for her life before she joined the Alliance. Built from the Spacer origin and introduces some of her family relationships. May be a one-shot.


**A/N: I needed something a little lighter in fare than my main story Beyond All Odds before I get swallowed by the depression of one of the characters. A bit of headcanon and a look back to how my FemShep got her start. May or may not be continued as I need a break from larger things.**

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**Humble Beginnings**

Arcturus station was bright, shining, a bastion of military order, or so he remembered. One could even say it was pristine. It was the perfect place to get into trouble. And the Shepard sisters excelled at finding it. Their father worried as he accompanied them to their new home.

Commander Kyle Shepard had been transferred to the station while his wife Hannah was out on a ship rotation, thus moving his two teenage daughters, yet again. At least this time around, the girls seemed to take the move well.

"Isn't Arcturus the biggest station in the Alliance?" Mira asked on their rotator flight into the station.

"It is." said the engineering officer. "Nearly everyone in the Alliance passes through Arcturus at some point."

"At least we won't have to wait for Mom when she finally finishes her tour." Marianne, the older sister said as she scrolled through a ballet catalog on her omni-tool. "Dad, I need a new pair of pointe shoes before auditions."

"Didn't you just get a new pair?"

"Yes, but those are black. The Academy of Dance requires standard pink ones and mine are falling apart." Marianne batted her light green eyes at him. "Besides, my birthday _is_ coming up."

Mire listened to their discussion half-heartedly as she started out the observation window thinking. Faster than light travel had always fascinated her. The glow of space as they sped through it was mesmerizing. Her sister may be content with her feet on solid ground, but she needed the vastness of space, the infinite possibilities. The fifteen year old splayed her fingers and rested her forehead against the window and gazed out at the eternity staring back at her. She knew she was going to follow her parents into the Alliance. While they would be proud of her, she also knew that they would not be entirely happy with the decision.

It had been a difficult life for her parents, constantly separate, constantly worried that the other may not make it back this time. She wasn't blind to their concern for each other and for their family. She knew more than they suspected, in fact, about faithlessness between them during long periods of separation. She knew it was a difficult way to raise a family; she could see it in their eyes whenever they had received orders for transfer to a new ship or station. But somehow, through it all, they had fought through it for each other and for her and Marianne.

They would not be happy, for they would not want that life for either of their girls, she knew, but they would understand. Space was her home, far more than any of the brief times she spent on one or another random colony, far more than Earth, which she had visited only a few times since she could remember. Space called to her, and it was a call she would answer.

Fortunately, her parents had pushed her, had pushed them both, to fulfill their every potential. Her grades were always top notch and she could rebuild an engine or reprogram a VI with the best, having inherited her father's knack with technology. Mass effect fields seemed like child's play to her sometimes. She knew that she would easily be accepted to the Engineering Academy if she applied.

Her years spent in various dance and martial arts programs had developed a strong work ethic and discipline, but it hadn't dulled her desire for the excitement that comes from pushing her boundaries like her mother had hoped. It was a trait she caught from her sister. Still, it had developed confidence and poise, much like her mother displayed when stepping into a command role on ship. It was another option for her. But for now, she had to wait and be thankful her parents didn't ship them off to one of her planet-side grandparents as had been threatened in the past.

For now, she just had to be thankful that she was here, able to watch the void flow around them as she traveled to her new home. A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her contemplation.

"How can you stand here and watch this every time we're jumping between systems?" Her older sister asked.

"How can you not?" She looked down at the smaller young woman. She towered over her sister by a good four inches, but except for their eyes, they otherwise looked nearly the same. Marianne's eyes were a lighter green, flecked with gold, while her eyes were a bright jade with a dark blue rim to her iris. The darkness of the blue in her eyes reminded her of her father's stormy eyes. She was always happy for the reminder.

"Seen one FTL jump, you seen them all, little sister. Come on, sit down, you're getting finger prints all over the window." Marianne called her over to a bench near the window. "I'd hate to be the young Servicemen having to clean your grubby prints off of it."

Mira laughed.

"Don't lie. You'd like to sit here watching them do it. If anything, I did you a favor."

"Only if he had a nice ass. It's too bad we're almost there." Marianne said, her voice colored with disappointment.

"Well, if what Dad says is true, then there should be plenty of nice-assed young servicemen for you to torment."She chuckled. Marianne smiled mischievously.

"That would be nice."

"You are incorrigible."

"And you're going to come hunting with me, right, Mira?" The older sister nudged the younger in the ribs with her elbow. Mira Shepard sighed as she looked out into the abyss once more.

"I guess."


End file.
